(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a mop holder for holding a mop for janitorial applications, and more particularly, to a mop holder having a scraper provided thereon.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Mop holders of a variety of types are well known in the art of janitorial equipment, including mop holders for supporting string-like mop swabs and mop holders for supporting sponge mops. These mop holders are generally constructed from metals, plastics, or some combination thereof, and range from having only a few to many component parts.
Most of the mop holders in use today are designed to reduce or eliminate the need for a user to handle the mop supported thereby. In the case of sponge mops, most of these mop holders provide handles or levers for hands-free wringing of the mop, while in the case of mop holders for mop swabs, provisions are made for changing the mop swab without having to handle the swab, particularly when removing the mop swab from the mop holder. The mop holder for holding mop swabs is typically provided with a pivoting loading bar, or a pivoting side support, or both, so that upon pivoting or disconnecting the loading bar or side support, the mop swab is free to slide out from the mop holder without the need for handling by the user. Despite these moving parts, almost all of the mop holders of the prior art are configured so that none of the component parts protrude outwardly from the frame, thereby avoiding the risk of unintentionally marking the floor being mopped. An example of such a mop holder is shown in Moss et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,035.
However, in using these mop holders of the prior art, materials are often encountered which are stuck to the surface being mopped, and which cannot be removed by mopping alone. For this reason, it is common for users of the mop holders of the prior art, including janitors and others, to carry a putty knife or other type of scraping device for scraping stubborn materials from a floor or baseboard being mopped. Where these materials are encountered and a scraping device is not readily available, significant time can be lost procuring such a device, or the quality of the mopping operation might be sacrificed. Moreover, where putty knifes or similar scraping devices are utilized for removing stubborn materials, the janitor must bend over or kneel down to perform the scraping operation, and may be injured as a result, especially when these operations are performed repeatedly over a period of time.